Power to the People: Do it Yourself Content Distribution

Peggy Anne Salz writes:  "... In his breakthrough book Democratizing Innovation, Eric von Hippel, head of the Technological Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management, documents the impact of user input on product innovation. From extreme-sports equipment to library information systems, users are consistently ahead of the curve, von Hippel observes. ... ¶  But this grassroots approach isn't limited to manufactured products and software. Motivated individuals linked by the Internet in what von Hippel calls "open information communities" are fast becoming a new force in the content creation and distribution marketplace. These communities are by no means restricted to user groups. "They can also be run by nonprofit organizations and profit-making firms and have a profound effect on how we create and share knowledge at all levels of our society in the future," von Hippel says. ..."  Link:  EContent.  Recommended. --Dennis